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"soccer mom" retardation is a universal problem... the stuff that came out of the mouths of fellow parents when we'd volunteer at high school was just dumbfounding.

I just recently had a run in with a soccer mom because I commented on my nephew's facebook account and apparently the comment was not good enough for her.
Things like that make me glad that I dont have kids to worry about myself.

Since [Kitakyushu] and other local governments beefed up regulations to take on the yakuza — making it a criminal offense for companies and individuals to do business with them — there has been a death threat against Kitakyushu’s mayor and his family, hand grenades tossed at the homes of corporate executives and a construction company chairman gunned down in front of his wife.

The yakuza remain a remarkably visible presence in Japan, as they have been for centuries. But law enforcement officials say the violence in Kitakyushu may prove a turning point, by shocking a public that has become increasingly fed up.

Any romantic aura that may have enveloped the gangsters in the past is falling away, the authorities say. They added that the Japanese increasingly see the yakuza simply as mobsters much like their counterparts in other countries, making money from drugs, gambling and extortion, particularly from their favorite target, Japan’s bloated construction industry.

“People are now seeing the reality that the yakuza are not chivalrous, but just an antisocial force,” said Kitakyushu’s mayor, Kenji Kitahashi, who said he was not intimidated by the death threat. He said the violence had turned many residents against the yakuza for hurting this former steel-making city’s efforts to lure new investment and jobs.

Hand grenades aren't what I would consider a "chivalrous" weapon. Now maybe that katana that Gin-san wielded in Black Lagoon might qualify, but grenades?

You are a person with a certain taste of music. You choose to listen to the music you like. You ignore the music you don't like.
If you don't like K-pop, you don't watch K-pop shows.
If some broadcaster always shows K-pop and you hate K-pop I know of a program that you might want to delete from your TV set.
There, problem solved. No reason to go all hating and xenophobic on them.

What will be hard for US audiences is the sheer number of group members. At some point it starts to look like a fetish version of those huge American Idol groups that usually translate to less talent per square foot. Quote from someone I was talking to about it today: "It was a little bland but cute and sexy... but why are there so many of them in the group?"

Maybe because Japan has always been rather inclusive bunch. Idol groups like HP! have an extremely loyal fanbase in Japan who would hate to see their special club have to include foreigners. Unlike Korea, Japan is getting more closed in against it's better judgement and instead of trying to stop the Korean Wave.

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Old McDonald had a farm...Eyey Eyey O...And on his farm he had a Khzithak...Eyey Eyey O...With a ARHHFAHHAAAAAAAAARRRGIIIAAA HELP AAAUUU HELP! IT'S GNAWING OFF MY...

I'm an anime nut and East Asian Studies major, but not even I am into the whole idol scene. There are as many as there are blades of grass, pop music is pop and frankly some aspects of the fandom just creep me out.

Anyways, interesting the about face on the gangsters. I guess those romanticized 60s movies have lost their charm...

I'm an anime nut and East Asian Studies major, but not even I am into the whole idol scene. There are as many as there are blades of grass, pop music is pop and frankly some aspects of the fandom just creep me out.

Anyways, interesting the about face on the gangsters. I guess those romanticized 60s movies have lost their charm...

I think "Asian fandom" (or whatever you want to call it) has branched out a lot. For one thing, look at all the girls who are into Dramas...

And if you go to an Anime con, they often have a concert by a band that has nothing to do with anime at all!

Letterman exists at the core of mainstream, this Asian pop stuff is at best at the fringes. I don't expect that to change as long as the US is number one in entertainment production.

Someone had serious connections to get that group onto Letterman (and he does tend to like to bring in risky new ideas for US viewers). You can kind of tell that the audience didn't know what to make of them (nor did the guest Regis). The other guest Bill Murray has spent enough time in Japan though... heh

I have a question for the Japanese natives and speakers here. It comes from a comment made by one of my college classmates about learning Japanese:

Quote:

I was very surprised to learn on a recent trip to Turkey, that Japanese learn Turkish very easily--and vice versa, supposedly because of a common root language. I saw this in action several times in tour groups, with obvious Turks speaking what appeared to be fluent Japanese, and occasionally Japanese tourists listening attentively to Turkish speaking guide.

Personally I found Turkish to be incomprehensible and even basic hello, goodbye, and numbers to be extremely hard to articulate and remember..not only in comparison to European languages but also Swahili and d'Luo, and maybe even Chinese.

What root language could Japanese and Turkish possibly have in common? A later comment mentioned that "funny gaijin" characters in Japanese theatrical performances were portrayed by Turkish actors. Is there any basis to these notions?